What is it about Starsiege that still attracts people to it more than four years down the road? The first incarnation of the game, Alpha Technology Release (ATR) One debuted in January 1998, the second being released in July 1998 and finally the gold master in May 1999. From this ol' mecha game spawn one helluva dedicated community. And it's not like it hasn't had it's fair share of bumpy roads: the death of the developers (long live Dynamix!), the blatant proverbial ear plugs of Vivendi / Sierra to the community's voice, the much needed 1.005 patch that may never see the light of day, even the deletion of the game's homepage and the purge of it's name from anywhere on Sierra's site.
So you say to yourself, "Yeah, so the game has been through some rough times but the community has been so tight-knit that it prevails in the long run." Exactly, the heroic tale of "Good Vs. Evil", where Good ultimately walks along that golden brick road into the disappearing sunset. Ahhh... but it is in the seams where the knitting will eventually unravel. Such are the warez'ing individuals in the community acting like loose threads in our sweater.
Recently, veteran and long-time tJY addict Feret, started a thread here enlisting help to give Starsiege a much needed and well deserved second breath. Contrary to his level-headed thoughts, several members started posting ideas of ripping the game and throwing it into the warez market. Think about it: the game gets into the hands of more players, the community grows, we all win, right? Sure, Vivendi isn't making any money off of this but hey - they're a huge conglomorate they can make due with a few less pennies in their pockets.
But what if... what if you took into consideration the impact this would have on the future of the community? Rip Starsiege and put it on Kazaa but the master servers, any hopes for Starsiege 2 and the future of community forums will all be wiped out. The game isn't abandonware and you won't stand a chance against Sierra's legal team.
There's no questioning where the hearts of these people are, and they've even come up with ideas on how to do this - which is better than what a lot of can say for ourselves. Unfortunately, a myriad of bad things have taken place in the world as a result of this same mentality.
The solution to this quandry doesn't lie in the mind or fingers of this writer, but rather, in the minds of you. The reader. If the same community that thrived on this game oh so long ago can't pull together and lend a helping hand then how can Starsiege be given a rebirth?
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